Eric Michael Haase
(; born December 18, 1992) is an American
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professional ...
catcher
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...
for the
Detroit Tigers of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2018 for the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
.
Early life
Haase was born on December 18, 1992, in
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
,
to Don and Lori Haase.
He grew up in the Detroit suburb of
Westland Westland or Westlands may refer to:
Places
*Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya
* Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme
*Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila ...
and would practice playing baseball in his childhood home. Haase's father converted a 12-car
pole barn
Pole framing or post-frame construction (pole building framing, pole building, pole barn) is a simplified building technique that is an alternative to the labor-intensive traditional timber framing technique. It uses large poles or posts bu ...
into a practice
batting cage
A batting cage (or tunnel) is an enclosed area for baseball or softball players to practice the skill of batting.
The optimal material for batting cages is netting, and they are typically rectangular in shape. Chain-link fence is not required bu ...
where his son could hit balls and work on becoming a
power hitter
Power hitter is a term used in baseball for a skilled player that has a higher than average ability in terms of his batting, featuring a combination of dexterity and personal strength that likely leads to a high number of home-runs as well as dou ...
.
Growing up, Haase and his family supported the
Detroit Tigers of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
, and Haase's favorite player was
catcher
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...
Lance Parrish
Lance Michael Parrish (born June 15, 1956), nicknamed "Big Wheel", is an American former baseball catcher who played Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1977 through 1995. Born in Pennsylvania, Parrish grew up in Southern California and excelled in ...
.
In 2008, Haase's freshman year at
Divine Child High School in
Dearborn, Michigan, he did not originally make the
varsity team
In most English-speaking countries, varsity is an abbreviation of the word ''university''. In the United States and Canada, the term is mostly used in relation to sports teams.
Varsity in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, varsity team ...
, but Haase was included on the roster when Divine Child went to the state playoffs. Used mostly as a
courtesy runner, Haase saw his first state high school baseball championship that year. He won another state championship with Divine Child as a junior in 2010, this time predominantly playing
third base
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
.
That year, he
batted .454 with eight
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s, 15
doubles, and 47
runs batted in
A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...
(RBI). During his senior year,
Gatorade named Haase their High School Baseball Player of the Year for the state of Michigan.
He was also named Michigan's Mr. Baseball in 2011, after batting .495 with 14 home runs and 54 RBI.
Career
Draft and minor leagues (2011–2018)
The
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
selected Haase out of high school in the seventh round, 218th overall, of the
2011 MLB Draft
The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...
. He had previously committed to play
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...
for the
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tre ...
, but chose to forgo that commitment in favor of accepting the Indians' $580,000
signing bonus. Primarily drafted as a catcher, the team was also interested in giving Haase time at third base.
He began his professional baseball career with the
Rookie-level Arizona Fall League
The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...
(AZL)
Indians, batting .300 with two RBI in four games and 10
at bats.
He spent the bulk of the 2012 season in the Arizona League as well, batting .282 with three home runs and 22 RBIs in 28 games and 109
plate appearances. He also appeared in three games with the
Class A Short Season
Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...
Mahoning Valley Scrappers
The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were ...
, scoring one
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
.
From there, Haase spent the entire 2013 season with the
Class A Lake County Captains
The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians.
The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following ...
, hitting 14 home runs in 104 games. He spent the 2013-14 offseason working on strength training and his defensive abilities, and when he returned to Lake County for the 2014 season, Haase's coaches praised his ability to block balls and call games from behind the plate.
After starting the 2014 season with Lake County, Haase received a midseason call-up to the
Double-A Carolina Mudcats
The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and play their home games at Five County Stadium. ...
, with whom he hit .185 with four runs, one home run, and six RBIs in 16 games. Haase remained in the
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...
the following year, as Cleveland changed its Double-A affiliate from the Mudcats to the
Lynchburg Hillcats
The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...
. He started the 2015 season there in a slump before hitting a
walk-off home run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will no ...
in the 10th inning of a game against the
Wilmington Blue Rocks
The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium.
...
on June 11. In 90 games with Lynchburg in 2015, Haase batted .247 with nine home runs and 55 RBIs. Defensively, he started 87 games at catcher and threw out 31 percent of attempted base stealers.
He spent the 2016 season with the
Akron RubberDucks
The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...
, hitting 12 home runs and 33 RBI. He split the 2017 season between Akron and the
Columbus Clippers, combining to hit 27 home runs and 61 RBI.
After the 2017 season, the Indians added Haase to their
40-man roster
A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...
.
Cleveland Indians (2018–2019)
He spent the 2018 minor league season with Columbus, hitting .236/.288/.443/.731 with 20 home runs and 71 RBI.
[ The Indians promoted Haase to the major leagues for the first time on September 1, 2018. He made his major league debut the next day. He hit .125 in 16 major league at bats.][
He opened the 2019 season back with Columbus.][ Haase appeared in 10 MLB games for the 2019 Indians, hitting just .063. He hit his first major league home run on September 28, 2019. He was designated for assignment on December 29, 2019.
]
Detroit Tigers (2020–present)
On January 8, 2020, Haase was traded to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for cash considerations. For the start of the shortened 2020 MLB season
The 2020 Major League Baseball season began on July 23 and ended on September 27 with only 60 games amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The full 162-game regular season was planned to begin on March 26, but the pandemic caused Major League Baseball ( ...
, Haase was chosen to be a part of the Detroit Tigers' taxi squad
In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...
. On September 15, 2020, Haase was recalled by the Tigers. Overall with the 2020 Detroit Tigers, Haase batted .176 with no home runs and 2 RBIs in 7 games. On December 23, 2020, Haase was designated for assignment following the signing of José Ureña
José Miguel Ureña Rodriguez (born September 12, 1991) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played MLB for the Miami Marlins, Detroit Tigers, and Milwaukee ...
. On January 6, 2021, he was outrighted.
On May 12, 2021, Haase was selected to the active roster. He made his 2021 debut on May 13, and went 2-for-4 at the plate. On May 17, 2021, Haase had the first multiple-homer game of his career, hitting a pair of solo home runs against the Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...
. The next night (May 18), Haase caught Spencer Turnbull
Spencer Ketcham Turnbull (born September 18, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2018. On May 18, 2021, Turnbull threw a no-hitter against the Seattle ...
's no-hitter against the Mariners, the eighth in Tigers history. On July 27, Haase hit his first career grand slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
home run off Hansel Robles
Hansel Manuel Robles (born August 13, 1990) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins and the Boston Red So ...
of the Minnesota Twins. The slam tied the game at 5–5 in the ninth inning, and the Tigers went on to win in the eleventh inning. With Minnesota's Mitch Garver
Mitchell Lynn Garver (born January 15, 1991) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins.
Early life
Garver was born on January 15, 19 ...
also hitting a grand slam earlier in this game, it marked the first time in MLB history that opposing catchers hit grand slams in the same game.
On August 2, 2021, Haase was named American League Rookie of the Month
Major League Baseball (MLB) honors its best rookies with a Rookie of the Month Award for one player in the American League (AL) and one in the National League (NL) during each month of the regular season. These awards have been issued since 2001, ...
for July. He became the first Tiger to win the award since Brennan Boesch
Brennan Philip Boesch (born April 12, 1985) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2010 with the Detroit Tigers and won the American League Rookie of the Month Award the first ...
in 2010. In July, Haase posted a .265 average and a .627 slugging percentage, with nine home runs and 29 RBI. Overall in 2021, Haase had 22 home runs in 98 games played, while batting .231 and driving in 61 runs. Behind the plate, he threw out 31% of potential base stealers, versus a league average of 23%.
In 2022, Haase made the first opening day roster of his career. He responded on opening day, April 8, by hitting a game-tying ninth-inning home run against the Chicago White Sox. The Tigers won the game later in the inning on a walk-off single by Javier Báez
Ednel Javier Báez (born December 1, 1992), nicknamed "El Mago" (Spanish for "The Magician"), is a Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cu ...
. On September 7 against the Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...
, Haase recorded his first career five-hit game, going 5-for-5 at the plate with two singles, two doubles and a home run.
Personal life
Haase and his wife, Maria, have four children.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haase, Eric
Living people
1992 births
People from Westland, Michigan
Baseball players from Michigan
Major League Baseball catchers
Cleveland Indians players
Detroit Tigers players
Arizona League Indians players
Mahoning Valley Scrappers players
Lake County Captains players
Carolina Mudcats players
Lynchburg Hillcats players
Akron RubberDucks players
Mesa Solar Sox players
Columbus Clippers players